Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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DR I VI NG AND CONTROLLI NG METHOD FOR BI OM I MET I C ASH AND
BI OM I MET I C FI SH
FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY
The present invention relates to the field of aquatic toys and related method
for driving and
controlling the toy. In particular though not solely, the present invention
relates to an aquatic
biomimetic fish and the method for driving and controlling the biomimetic fish
in a manner to
imitate the fish's forward motion, turning and up-down traverse, preferably
driven by the fish's tail.
BACKGROUND
Bionics is a comprehensive "boundary science" that has been evolving since the
1960's, in
which life science and engineering technique are integrated together.
Machines, instruments,
constructions and processes have been improved by learning, simulating,
copying or repeating
structures, functions, working principles and control mechanisms of a
biosystem. The subject of
biomimetic robots was created because it was realized that organisms had high
rationality and
progressiveness in respects of their structure, function execution,
information processing,
environmental adaptation, autonomous learning as a result of long-term natural
evolution. The
development of biomimetic robots was derived from the pursuit of non-
structural and unknown
working environments, a complicated, skillful and high-difficulty work tasks,
and a goal for high
accuracy, high flexibility, high reliability and high intelligence.
Bionics has also applied in the toy industry, including for toy fish. An
example is shown in
US patent 2909868. However, this toy fish utilizes complex mechanics to
convert the rotary
motion of a motor into oscillating motion of the tail fin of the fish. This
mechanism may be prone
to failure and/or complexities of assembly due to the large number of parts
required to affect the
motion of the tail fin. US patent 2909868 also does not describe a manner by
which the toy may
change direction without direct input from a person or external object nor how
a toy can likewise be
made to descend in a body of water.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
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It is an object of the present invention to provide an aquatic toy that offers
simplicity in
construction and/or can be caused to change direction and/or related method
for driving and
controlling said toy.
The present invention consists in an aquatic toy comprising:
a buoyant body,
a propeller dependent from said buoyant body in a manner to be capable of
oscillatory
motion relative to the buoyant body and wherein the buoyant body carries:
a) a battery,
b) a driver operatively connected to the propeller to cause said propeller to
oscillate, the
driver being driven by the interaction of an energizable coil and a magnet,
the coil
energizable by said battery.
Preferably the energizable coil and the magnet are carried by said buoyant
body.
Preferably the buoyant body is a sealed buoyant body in which the battery is
located.
Preferably said propeller is a fin.
Preferably the propeller is engaged to said buoyant body in a manner to allow
it to make a
swishing like oscillatory motion relative to said buoyant body as a result of
the movement of the
driver.
Preferably said driver is pivotally mounted relative to said buoyant body and
is engaged, at
one side of said pivot to said propeller, and at the opposite side of said
pivot and inside said buoyant
body, to one of (a) said energizable coil and (b) said magnet, wherein the
other of (a) said
energizable coil and (b) said magnet is mounted in a manner fixed to said
buoyant body in a
location to allow such to operatively interact to drive said driver in at
least one direction for rotation
about said pivot.
Preferably said driver extends out of said buoyant body and is engaged to said
propeller
external of said buoyant body.
Preferably a drive control circuit is provided in said buoyant body to control
the
energization of said coil.
Preferably said buoyant body defines an enclosure, and wherein said driver is
a shaft and
said propeller is fixed at or towards one end of the shaft, and one of said
(a) coil or (b) magnet is
engaged at or towards the other end of the shaft and inside said enclosure,
wherein between said
ends, said shaft passes through said buoyant body in a sealed manner so that a
floating hermetic
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closure is formed.
Preferably said coil is engaged to said driver and can move in an oscillatory
manner with
said driver for alternating interaction with at least one magnet secured to
said buoyant body.
Preferably said at least one magnet is one magnet that is presented with its
polarity
oriented towards the coil in a manner to make said magnet attract said coil
when said coil is
energized with a current, such that said driver is moved in one direction.
Preferably when said coil is energized with a reversed current said coil is
repelled by said
magnet, such that said driver is moved in an opposite direction.
Alternatively said at least one magnet is two magnets secured to said buoyant
body.
Preferably each of said two magnets is presented with its polarity oriented
towards the coil
in a manner to make one magnet generate an attraction force and the other
magnet generate a
pushing force on said driver when the coil is energized.
Preferably energization is of said coil is controlled by said drive control
circuit in a manner
to alter the direction of current through the coil and thus the magnetic
polarity of the coil.
Preferably said driver can be deflected by altering the current to said coil,
said current
being current pulses that are altered by at least one of duration of said
pulses, amplitude of said
pulses and offsetting of said pulses, said drivers' movement due to said
altering of said current
causing deflection of said propeller, causing said aquatic toy to turn.
Alternatively a pair of coils are secured to said buoyant body and a magnet is
carried by
said driver, and an attraction force and a pushing force will be generated
between each of said pair
of coils and said magnet when the pair of coils are energized by an
alternating current.
Preferably at least one additional magnet is fixed to said battery and a
second coil can be
energized such that the interaction force between said second coil and said at
least one additional
magnet drives said battery to move forward or backward so as to change the
position of said battery
in said buoyant body and adjust the center of gravity of the buoyant body,
such that said aquatic toy
in use can move up or down dependent on the energization of said second coil.
Preferably an activation circuit is provided to activate the energization of
the coil(s), the
activation circuit selected from one of (a) a vibration switch and (b)
moisture sensor and (c)
terminals of a circuit or switching circuit that complete an electrical
circuit via water in which said
aquatic toy may be placed.
Preferably the propeller is in the shape of a fish tail and the buoyant body
is in the shape of
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a fish body.
Preferably said drive control circuit comprises a PCB, a vibration switch and
at least one
LED indicator light that indicates whether said aquatic toy is working or
being charged.
Preferably said vibration switch comprises a central post and a vibration
spring, wherein
when vibration of said buoyant body is transmitted to said spring, the spring
can swing to contact
said central post when the swing exceeds a certain amplitude and accordingly
an electric signal is
generated to activate said drive control circuit.
Preferably said drive control circuit has an infrared receiving tube that can
receive a remote
control signal, such that the drive control circuit will execute operation
corresponding to the
received signal.
In a second aspect the present invention consists in a biomimetic fish
comprising a
watertight body portion that contains a battery electrically connected via a
controller to at least one
coil, said coil positioned relative to at least one magnet, said coil
oscillating in response to magnetic
pole interactions between said at least one coil and said at least one magnet
by virtue of a controller
defined alternating current passing through said coil, said coil oscillation
causing movement of a
tail fin that is engaged to said coil and said watertight body to cause said
fish to move forward
through a body of water.
In a further aspect the present invention consists in a method for driving and
controlling a
biomimetic fish, comprising the following steps:
(1) providing a hermetic fish body and a fish tail capable of swinging
relative to the body,
wherein the fish body is internally provided with a drive control circuit, a
battery and a shaft, said
fish tail fixed on one end of the shaft, the other end of the shaft is fixed
to a coil bracket, where a
coil is fixed to the coil bracket and a middle section of the shaft is
sheathed by a sealing ring,
wherein an inner hole of the sealing ring is associated tightly with the tail
shaft, and an outer edge
of the sealing ring is associated tightly with the fish body, thereby a
floating hermetic closure is
formed,
(2) disposing a magnet adjacent each inner side of the fish body respectively
at the
position corresponding to the coil, wherein the surfaces of the magnets
proximate each other are of
the same polarity, which at any one time makes one magnet generate an
attraction force and another
magnet generate a pushing force on said coil when the coil is energized,
(3) supplying power for the coil by said drive control circuit and the
battery, the swing of
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the fish tail controlled by altering the direction of current through the coil
and duration thereof, such
as to cause the swing arc of the fish tail to be variable and allow a
deflecting force to be generated
to make the fish turn.
Preferably alternatively, coils are fixed on the fish body, and a magnet is
carried by said
5
shaft, and an attraction force and a pushing force will be generated between
the coils and the
magnet when the coils are energized in an alternating current manner.
Preferably additional magnets are located on the battery and a second coil is
associated
with said additional magnets such that an interaction force is caused between
the second coil and
the additional magnets that drives the battery to move forward or backward so
as to change the
position of the battery in the fish body, and adjust the center of gravity of
the fish body, affecting an
upwards or downwards force on the fish body.
Preferably a vibration switch is provided for the drive control circuit, said
vibration switch
generates a trigger signal through external vibration to activate or
deactivate the drive control
circuit.
Preferably a hard expansion ring is disposed on the inner side of the sealing
ring to enable
the sealing ring to tightly abut against the fish body.
In a further aspect the present invention consists in a biomimetic fish
wherein said fish
comprises a fish body assembly and a fish tail assembly which are capable of
swinging relative to
each other, the fish body assembly internally provided with a drive control
circuit, and comprises a
left shell body and a right shell body which are internally provided with a
magnet respectively, and
the opposite surfaces of the two magnets are of the same polarity.
Preferably the fish tail assembly comprises a sealing ring and a support
bracket.
Preferably the fish tail assembly floats relative to said fish body due to the
support of both
said left and right shell body, the sealing ring and the support bracket.
Preferably the tail shaft penetrates through the central hole of the sealing
ring, the outer
end of the tail shaft supports said fish tail, the inner end of the tail shaft
is inserted into a hole of a
coil bracket and a coil is fixed in a central hole of the coil bracket.
Preferably when the drive control circuit supplies electric current to the
coil, the magnetic
field generated by the coil interacts with the magnetic fields produced by
both magnets, to create an
attraction force at one side and a pushing force at the other side of said
coil and wherein when the
current direction is changed, the force directions are changed accordingly, so
that the forces enables
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the tail to swing and thus pushes the whole fish body to move forward.
Preferably said the drive control circuit comprises a PCB, a vibration switch,
an infrared
receiving tube and LED indicator lights that can show the status of working or
charging.
Preferably the vibration switch consists of a central post and a vibration
spring.
Preferably when vibration of the fish body is transmitted to the spring, the
spring can
swing to contact with the central post when the swing exceeds a certain
amplitude and accordingly
an electric signal is generated to activate the drive control circuit and the
infrared receiving tube
receives a remote control signal from outside, and the control circuit
executes corresponding
operation according to the received signal.
Preferably said fish body has a reflector positioned within it so that light
enters into the
reflector through an incident surface when the LED indicator is lit, whereupon
the light is reflected
by two reflecting surfaces to be emitted to both sides of the fish and to
positions of the fish eyes to
then be emitted through the fish eyes.
Preferably the body of said fish is internally provided with a coil and a
magnet attached on
a battery.
Preferably a magnetic field generated by the coil when the coil is energized,
interacts with
the magnetic field produced by the magnet to create an attraction force or a
pushing force to drive
the battery to move.
Preferably when the battery moves forward, the gravity center moves forward
simultaneously, and the fish body in use inclines forward, such that there
will be a downward
component force to drive the fish down as the fish tail swings.
Preferably when the magnet drives the battery to move backward, the gravity
center moves
backward simultaneously causing the fish head to be lifted, such that there
will be an upward
component force to drive the fish up as the fish tail swings.
The invention can be widely used for manufacturing various electrical toys,
remote control
toys or self-programming toys and tutoring equipment.
To those skilled in the art to which the invention relates, many changes in
construction and
widely differing embodiments and applications of the invention will suggest
themselves without
departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.
The disclosures and
the descriptions herein are purely illustrative and are not intended to be in
any sense limiting.
The term "comprising" is used in the specification and claims, means
"consisting at least in
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part of'. When interpreting a statement in this specification and claims that
includes "comprising",
features other than that or those prefaced by the term may also be present.
Related terms such as
"comprise" and "comprises" are to be interpreted in the same manner.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will be further described with reference to the accompanying
drawings and
embodiment.
Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the external structure of an embodiment of
the aquatic
toy of the invention.
Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of Figure 1 without
one side of its
shell body.
Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the transverse section of the tail in
Figure 1.
Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a charging seat cover for use with the
aquatic toy of the
invention.
Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the coil bracket of the tail of the aquatic
toy of the
invention.
Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the optical structure of the indicators of
the
embodiment of the invention.
Figure 7 is an illustration of an alternative coil and magnet configuration
that may be used
to oscillate the tail of the aquatic toy of the invention.
Figure 8 is an illustration of yet another alternative coil and magnet
configuration that may
be used to oscillate the tail of the aquatic toy of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring to Figures 1 to 7, the aquatic toy of the present invention is a
biomimetic fish.
The fish comprises of a body assembly 1 and a propeller, preferably in the
form of a fish tail
assembly 2. The fish tail assembly 2 is engaged or integrally formed with the
body assembly 1.
The fish is of a buoyant configuration.
Tail Movement
The fish tail assembly 2 comprises a fish tail 21 that can make a swishing
oscillatory like
motion relative to the body and thereby propel the fish through the water. The
body is preferably
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made from a rigid plastic and the tail 21 from a more flexible plastic.
However, alternative
appropriate materials may be used.
In the preferred embodiment the body assembly 1 comprises a left shell body 11
and a
right shell body 13. The fish tail assembly 2 is pivotally or floatingly
disposed from the body
assembly. The fish tail assembly 2 may gain support of both the left shell
body 11 and right shell
body 13, and a sealing ring 24 and a support bracket 23. A tail shaft 22 of
the fish tail assembly 2
has an inner end and an outer end. The inner end penetrates through a central
hole of the sealing
ring 24. The outer end of the tail shaft 22 carries the fish tail 21.
A coil and magnet arrangement is preferably disposed in the body assembly 1.
The coil
can be energized to cause the tail to oscillate.
In one form the coil and magnet arrangement may be presented in a manner where
two
magnets 12 and one coil 26 are present in the body assembly 1. However, in
other forms there
may be one magnet and one coil, see Figure 8, or one magnet and two coils, see
Figure 7.
In use, when the coil or coils are energized magnetic poles are induced in the
coil or coils
and these magnetic poles interact with the magnetic poles of the magnet or
magnets.
In the preferred form of the aquatic toy, the inner end of the tail shaft 22
carries the coil 26.
The inner end of the tail shaft extends into a hole 251 of a coil bracket 25,
and a coil 26 is fixed in
the central hole 252 of the coil bracket 25.
In the preferred configuration the body assembly carries two magnets 12. These
two
magnets 12 are respectively secured each on an inner side of each right and
left side shells 11, 13.
Therefore, a magnet 12 sits of each side of the coil when it is in a central
location. Preferably the
opposite surfaces of the two magnets are of the same polarity, and the coil is
disposed such that the
coils central axis is perpendicular to the central horizontal axis through the
aquatic toy fish. In use,
when the coil is energized the magnetic poles formed in the coil, cause the
coil to be are attracted to
one of the magnets and repelled by the other of the magnets.
In other embodiments the magnet and coil configuration may be different, but
have the
same effect. For example, in Figure 8, when an alternating current to applied
to the coil 226, an
alternating magnetic pole is induced in the coil, that interacts with the
single magnets 212 pole,
causing the shaft 222 and tail 221 to move. Similarly, in Figure 7, when an
alternating current is
applied to each of the coils 326, 327 the magnetic poles induced in the coils
interact with the poles
of the magnet and cause the magnet and thus the shaft 322 to move.
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In the preferred configuration of Figure 3, a drive control circuit 3 is
disposed in the body
assembly 1. When the drive control circuit 3 supplies electric current to the
coil 26 the magnetic
field induced in the coil 26 interacts with the magnetic field produced by
both magnets 12. This
creates an attraction force at one side of the coil 26 and a pushing force at
the other side of the coil
26. This causes the coil 26 and bracket 25 to pivot or lean towards one or
other magnet 12,
causing the tail shaft 22 to swing in the opposite direction to the movement
of the coil and bracket.
When the current direction is changed, the force directions are changed
accordingly and the tail
shaft 22 is moved in the opposite direction. Thus with consecutive changes in
the current in the
coil 26 and changing of the magnetic poles in the coil, the tail shaft is
causes to swing in an
oscillatory manner. The swinging of the tail causes the tail 21 to propel the
body assembly 1
forward.
Additionally, in the preferred form of the aquatic toy, an activation circuit
is provided for
the toy. The activation circuit is associated with the drive control circuit
and is provided to
activate the energization of the coil(s). The activation circuit may be
selected from one of (a) a
vibration switch and (b) moisture sensor or (c) terminals of a circuit or
switching circuit that
complete an electrical circuit via water in which said aquatic toy may be
placed.
Turning Movement
A deflecting force will be produced when the fish goes forward if the fish
tail is at a certain
angle to the fish body. This will cause the fish to turn. Different durations
of swing of the fish
tail on opposite sides of the fish centerline will cause a non-symmetric
deflecting force and the fish
can turn accordingly. Thus the fish's moving direction can be changed by
altering the
forward-direction and backward-direction current pulses in the coil 26, which
is supplied by the
drive control circuit 3. The altering of the current pulses may be by way of
duration, amplitude or
by applying an offset sine wave current pulse to the coil or coils.
Drive Control Circuit
In the preferred form the drive control circuit 3 comprises a PCB 31, a
vibration switch 32 and
LED indicator lights 34 and 35. The indicator lights 34, 35 are capable of
showing a status of
activation of the fish or charging of the fish respectively.
The drive control circuit is powered by
a battery 17.
The vibration switch 32 consists of a central post 321 and a vibration spring
322. When
vibration of the fish body is transmitted to the spring, the spring starts to
swing and will contact
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with the central post when the swing exceeds a certain amplitude. Accordingly
an electric signal
is generated to activate the drive control circuit.
In some forms of the invention, the drive control circuit 3 may include an
infrared
receiving tube 33. The infrared receiving tube 33 is capable of receiving a
transmitted remote
5 control signal from a transmitter outside the fish. In response to the
transmitted signal, the control
circuit will execute a corresponding operation according to the received
signal.
Referring to Figure 6, the operation of the indicator lights 34, 35 will be
described. When
the drive circuit is in operation, the LED indicator light 34 is lit up.
Alternatively, when the fish is
charging, a different LED indicator light 35 is lit up. Light from each of
these hits the incident
10 surface 141 and then the reflector 14. Light can be reflected by two
reflecting surfaces 142 to be
emitted to both sides of the fish out through the fish eyes 143, 144.
Up and Down Movement
The fish body is internally provided with an additional coil 15, and at least
one additional
magnet 16 (however, more than one magnet may be used), that is attached to the
battery 17 that
powers the drive control circuit 3. A magnetic field generated by the coil
when the coil 15 is
supplied with an electric current (from the drive control circuit), interacts
with the magnet 16 to
create an attraction force or a pushing force to drive the battery 17 to move.
When the battery
moves forward the center of gravity of the fish shifts forward simultaneously,
such that a downward
component force is produced to drive the fish downwards while the fish tail 2
is operating. When
the magnet 16 drives the battery 17 to move backward, the center of gravity of
the fish shifts
backward simultaneously, effectively lifting the fish head, such that there
will be an upward
component force to drive the fish upwards while the fish tail 2 is operating.
An alternative method of changing the center of gravity of the fish is to fix
a magnet 16
and allow a coil to be movable, such that the coil drives the battery or any
other counterweight
member to move. The movable counterweight member cannot be made of magnetic
material such
as iron or the like; otherwise an attraction force will be produced between
the movable member and
the magnet that would interfere with the correct action of the coil.
Alternatively the fish's center of gravity can be adjusted in a right-left
direction using
either of the above methods but when the above mechanisms are arranged
transversely. Again,
alternatively, the fish's centre of gravity can be adjusted in a forward-
backward direction when
either of the above mechanisms are arranged vertically.
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Charging
The battery 17 is capable of being charged through a port in the fish shell. A
Micro-USB
plug or other suitable charging plug can be inserted into a charge socket 19
by opening a waterproof
cover 18 on the fish shell.
In particular, the charging system of the drive control circuit 3 may be
designed to be
charged via a USB power supply, so that a charger with a Micro-UBS charging
head can be used in
charging. Because numerous cell phones use such chargers, a special charger
may not need to be
supplied with the fish; therefore, cost savings can be made.
However, other plug and socket arrangements for charging as are known in the
art may be
used with the aquatic toy fish of the present invention.
The charging cover 18 is shown in Figure 4. The charging cover comprises a
post 183,
plug 184 and base 181, that when the charging cover 18 is closed over the port
19, is inserted into
port 19. The cover 18 is made of a plastics material and each of the post 183
and plug 184 as well
as the base 181 fit into the shell of the fish body, so as to cause a
watertight seal of the charging port
area of the aquatic toy.
Remote Control
As detailed above the aquatic toy of the present invention may utilise
infrared remote
control. However, radio remote control could also be used, or a computer and a
cell phone may
alternatively be used for controlling the fish if a Bluetooth receiver or WIFI
receiver is disposed in
the fish body. Furthermore, in some embodiments if the fish body was
internally provided with
sensors capable of sensing acoustic-optic variation or touch and a
microprocessor capable of
processing the sensing signals, autonomous control can be realized.
Advantages
As such the biomimetic fish of the present invention can realistically
simulate forward
movement, turning and up-down traverse. It can be operated flexibly and
conveniently and may
be controlled by various drive circuit programs or by remote control.
It is an advantage for the present invention to have simple structure and well-
designed
dynamic system. The biomimetic fish can be flexibly driven and its center of
gravity can be
adjusted by interacting variable magnetic fields in the coil with fixed
magnetic field of a magnet.
The biomimetic fish of the present invention realistically simulates motions
of fish in
nature; a user can conveniently conduct the functions, such as moving forward,
turning left and
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right, diving and floating and the like, by means of several control ways. The
present invention has
high flexibility and strong reliability and is capable of supporting remote
control and
self-programming control.
As described by the embodiment of the invention, methods for driving and
controlling other
biomimetic fish having the same or similar structure of the invention are seen
to fall within the
scope of the invention.
